Search - Duke Ellington :: Live in the Big Apple

Is it live or is it Musicraft?

E. Earick | 10/01/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Beware, this deceptively titled album is no obscure Ellington concert recording. It is instead comprised of all but two of the studio recordings done by Ellington for the small Musicraft label in 1946. However, that information is contained nowhere in the nearly worthless liner notes included with this product. Serious Ellington fans will certainly want to obtain the Musicraft recordings as they come from a period where the Duke was otherwise unrecorded in the studio and he and Strayhorn were engaged in serious efforts at stretching the accepted conventions of their art form. If it can be found at an affordable price, an infinitely better choice would be Happy-Go-Lucky Local. Failing that, you'd presumably still fare better with Complete Musicraft Recordings."